Gertrude Stein’s “objects”: Visible text and obscure meanings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/1992-6464-2026-219-211-220Keywords:
suggestive text, repetitive technique, obscure meanings, rhythm, multi-level text analysisAbstract
Introduction. This article examines ‘Objects’, one of the three parts of Gertrude Stein’s book of prose poetry Tender Buttons. It reflects the intense interest in this work among both Russian and international scholars over recent decades. The study aims to present ‘Objects’ as a suggestive text and to identify its meanings.
Materials and Methods. The study analyzes ‘Objects’ alongside scholarly literature on suggestive texts and their defining characteristics. The theoretical framework incorporates linguistic studies on prose and poetry and draws on a Freudian psychoanalytic approach. The study also draws on Stein’s own observations and explanations regarding her creative work. ‘Objects’ is examined from a traditional philological perspective, occasionally intersecting with literary studies. The methodology comprises a traditional multi-level text analysis and an examination of the work’s compositional features. A statistical method was used to structure the morphological, quasi-morphological, and lexical content that constitutes the textual fabric.
Results. Multi-level text analysis (phonetic, lexical, syntactical, and etymological) and the examination of morphological and quasi-morphological levels, in both synchronic and diachronic aspects, revealed the specificities of the text’s composition. The composition is characterized by a flat depiction of everyday objects as still-life pictures, which is accompanied by the dynamics of a suggestive text where rhythm and color-sound arrangement form the semantic basis. The author provides examples from the text to illustrate the repetitive technique — characteristic of Stein’s work in general — which is manifested at all levels of ‘Objects’. This technique creates internal rhyme and rhythm, positioning the work as poetic rather than prosaic.
Conclusions. ‘Objects’ meets the criteria for a suggestive text. Beyond its overt meanings, it contains obscure themes, such as religious, erotic, and social subtexts that permeate the entire work and define its magnetic quality.
References
ИСТОЧНИКИ
Stein, G. (1914) Tender Buttons. New York: Claire Marie, pp. 7–30.
СЛОВАРИ
Stein, J. (1972) The Random House Dictionary of the English Language. The Unabridged Edition. New York: Random House, 2059 p.
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SOURCES
Stein, G. (1914) Tender Buttons. New York: Claire Marie, pp. 7–30. (In English)
DICTIONARIES
Stein, J. (1972) The Random House Dictionary of the English Language. The Unabridged Edition. New York: Random House, 2059 p. (In English)
REFERENCES
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